‘Paid’ certification of commitment?

On May 14, BJP President Vijay Shah and MP Ranjanben Bhatt boasted that the World Book of Records had “validated” their “dedicated and relentless commitment for promoting safety against the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Vijay Shah’s Facebook post, wherein he had thanked the World Book of Records for giving him this “honour”, garnered 1.6K likes and 952 congratulatory comments.

Like any worthy credential by an international organization that deserves to be shown, BJP stalwarts uploaded the certificate across their social media platforms. What missed the captions of these posts was that MP Ranjanben Bhatt, according to the World Book of Records website, herself is one of the 16 patrons of the organization.

Upon calling the Vice-President of the World Book of Records, Dr. Rajeev Srivastava, he explicitly stated that a person would only need to pay Rs.2500 for the certificate and an additional Rs.2500 for a name in their publication. Alluring the certificate-seekers further, the organization also promises two copies of the magazine for the applicants.

The organization takes a rather simplistic, hassle-free approach to verify the activities for which the certificates are being provided. When asked about the verification of activities after applying for the certificate, the Vice-President said, “It is noon right now. If you manage to complete the payment in an hour’s time, I will be able to issue the certificate by evening.” He added that there was no need to submit any proof of work either.

44 out of 44 members of the executive committee of the “London-based” company are of Indian ethnicity. The further inclusion of Daler Mehndi and Bappi Lehri as ambassadors in the executive team also certainly acts as a luring factor for applicants to apply for the certificate.

As debates revolve around people flocking to social media to seek validation, Ranjanben Bhatt has now set an example for youngsters to follow. Ranjanben Bhatt validated her “dedicated and relentless commitment” against the pandemic from an organization wherein she is one of the sixteen patrons. As frontline workers fight the virus and others, the economy, the politicos of Vadodara seemingly look inclined towards organizations with dubious affiliations to validate their work.